FBM KLCI - rebounded to close higher, led by telecoms and banking stocks
Stocks on Bursa Malaysia ended mixed Thursday with the benchmark FBMKLCI rebounded to close higher, supported by strength in telecommunications stocks and a rebound in heavyweight banking stocks, which kept the benchmark index in positive territory despite cautious overall market sentiment. Asia-Pacific stock markets tumbled Thursday, driven by a massive sell-off in major semiconductor and technology shares amid concerns that the AI-driven rally had run ahead of itself, and that valuations had scaled too high combined with localized market mechanics to trigger localized sell-offs, though some South Asian and defensive benchmarks bucked the trend. Regionally, Japan's Nikkei225 tumbled 1,741.81 points or 2.47% to 68,733.15, and South Korea's KOSPI plummeted 655.32 points or 7.89% to 7,648.09, while the Taiwan Weighted Index fell 274.83 points or 0.58% to 46,744.16. China's SHSZ300 plunged 146.68 points or 2.96% to 4,812.29 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 174.01 points or 0.76% to 23,055.03. Singapore's STI gained 55.65 points or 1.08% to 5,217.15 and Australia's S&P/ASX200 climbed 1.60 points or 0.02% to 8,724.50. The ringgit ended higher against regional currencies and the US dollar yesterday at 4.0780/4.0830 from Wednesday’s close of 4.0920/4.0965 as the greenback remained subdued following a lack of clear guidance on the US interest rate outlook. Brent crude oil futures last traded US$0.23 higher at US$71.80 per barrel on Thursday.
Stocks on Bursa Malaysia ended sharply higher yesterday in line with the firmer regional stock markets, buoyed by the stronger Wall Street overnight. Regional markets’ sentiment received a boost following the biggest gains on Wall Street in four years after a US Federal Reserve policymaker said the case for an interest rate increase next month seems less compelling than it was a few weeks ago. The FBM KLCI rose 21.33 points or 1.35% to 1,601.7, after moving between 1,579.98 and 1,601.7 throughout the day. Gainers more than tripled losers by 726 to 206, while 222 counters remained unchanged. Total volume declined to 2.1 billion units valued at RM2.31 billion from Wednesday’s 2.15 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion.
Stocks on Bursa Malaysia ended higher for the second consecutive day yesterday lifted by gains on selected heavyweights. The local market received a boost from the stimulus measures in China after recovering from Monday’s global selloff. China’s central bank cut its key lending rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.6%, the fifth interest rate cut since November, in an effort to stabilise the country’s stock markets. The world’s second-largest economy’s central bank also reduced the statutory reserve requirement to effectively freeing the country’s banks to lend more cash. At close, the FBM KLCI rose 16.43 points or 1.05% to 1,580.37, after moving between 1,554.37 and 1,585.59 throughout the day. Gainers and losers stood at 407 each, while 320 counters remained unchanged. Total volume fell to 2.15 billion units valued at RM2.27 billion from 2.78 billion units valued at RM2.76 billion on Tuesday.